After responding to questions posed by foreign academics at the Fulbright Research Workshop, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday was criticized by members of the public for being “out of touch with the people.”
At the event in Taipei, a foreign academic asked Ma’s opinion on what was causing the men (悶) which many Taiwanese said they were feeling, which the academic said was “a feeling of stagnation, or having no way forward.”
Ma said that he did not know of such a “widespread phenomenon,” saying that there were bound to be a variety of feelings felt by different people as Taiwan is a “very pluralistic society,” adding that the government is striving to take care of those with particular concerns and has raised social welfare spending in a bid to narrow the wealth gap.
Photo: CNA
Ma said the gap between the richest 20 percent and poorest 20 percent of families had been 6.39 times, but the government’s efforts had reduced the gap to 6.09 times. The wealth gap between individuals stands at 4.08 times, he said.
Ma concluded his talk with some comments in English.
“If you know anyone who specifically feels hen men (感到很悶), let me know. I’ll talk to them, alright?” he said.
Ma’s remarks provoked criticism.
Taiwan Adequate Housing Association president Huang Yi-chung (黃益中) said he would be very glad to talk with Ma on how men those without housing felt.
While Ma says that 85 percent of Taiwanese have their own homes, it is a figure based on family units, Huang said.
Under such a method, Huang said that although he works in Taipei and rents an apartment, the data show that he possesses a house as his registered residence is in Hsinchu, where his family owns a home.
Such a calculation method only highlights Ma’s stupidity, Huang said.
Huang also dismissed Ma’s remarks that the central government and local governments are seeking to solve the problem by building more social housing, saying that the 7,000 units of social housing comprise only 0.08 percent of total residential buildings in the nation.
Huang said the government’s policies allowing younger people to take out loans at a lower interest rate results in the young being burdened with debt for the next two to three decades to pay for a home that is over-priced as a result of property speculation.
Such policies expose young people to a potential housing market bubble, further displaying Ma’s stupidity, Huang said.
National Alliance of Parents Organizations director-general Wu Fu-pin (吳福濱) and National Federation of Teachers Unions deputy secretary-general Lo Te-shui (羅德水) said that the government’s education policies are making both parents and teachers “feel stagnated.”
Taiwan Labor Front secretary-general Son Yu-liam (孫友聯) said the nation’s economy has become sluggish and is not doing so well. Not only has Ma failed to deliver on his “6-3-3” election campaign promise, workers are also subjected to long hours and are constantly being overworked, while receiving very low wages.
Government policies continue to favor large corporations, while workers’ wages have regressed to the same level as 1999, Son said, adding that people have evidently had enough, which led to last year’s mass protests and the storming of the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
“A president who says he does not know that the public is suffering from a feeling of stagnation, or having no way forward, is evidently too far removed from the public he is supposed to be serving,” Son said.
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS